Welcome to another day of bookish delight, as we celebrate two events.
Theme Thursdays, hosted by Reading Between Pages, is all about finding themes in the books we read and enjoying the writing styles of the authors we explore.
Booking Through Thursday is like a conversation amongst bloggers in response to a prompt issued each week.
Come on by and join in the fun!
Theme Thursdays:
Every week, we choose a theme, which gives us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.
The theme for this week is
WALK , stroll, pace, tread, step etc.
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My theme today comes from Little Night, by Luanne Rice, an emotionally gripping family drama.
Clare Burke’s life took a devastating turn when she tried to protect her sister, Anne, from an abusive and controlling husband and ended up serving prison time for assault. The verdict largely hinged on Anne’s defense of her spouse—all lies—and the sisters have been estranged ever since. Nearly twenty years later, Clare is living a quiet life in Manhattan as an urban birder and nature blogger, when her niece, Grit, turns up on her doorstep.
The two long for a relationship with each other, but they’ll have to dig deep into their family’s difficult past in order to build one. Together they face the wounds inflicted by Anne and find in their new connection a place of healing. When Clare begins to suspect her sister might be in New York, she and her niece hold out hope for a long-awaited reunion with her.
A riveting story about women and the primal, tangled family ties that bind them together, Little Night marks a milestone for Luanne Rice—the thirtieth novel from the author with a talent for creating stories that are “exciting, emotional, terrific” (The New York Times Book Review).
***
Snippet: (A letter from the past has just arrived) – Clare walked into the living room; trying to keep her hands steady, she opened the letter and started to read:
***
Booking Through Thursday
We all had to read things in school that we didn’t like … but what
about something you read for a class that you ended up liking (or
loving)? An author you discovered that you might not have found? A
genre you hadn’t thought about?
***
It has been many, maaannnny years since high school, so I had to reflect on this for awhile. Prior to having assigned reading, though, I mostly read books written by women, like Louisa May Alcott. So I would say Ernest Hemingway would have been just such an author that I might not have tried.
But after reading For Whom the Bell Tolls and then A Farewell to Arms, I was amazed.
It was years before I read anything by him again, but recalling how I enjoyed his books then, last summer I picked up A Moveable Feast .
(Click title/cover for my review)
My recent return to Hemingway came about because I’d read and loved The Paris Wife.
What about you? What “assignments” led to discoveries for you?
Oh me, I wonder what is written in that letter. Have a feeling it’s bad news.
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Yes, I would think that, too, but I was actually surprised about the contents of the letter. Thanks for visiting, Tea.
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I still haven’t gotten into Hemingway. I should probably give it another try. Which book would you suggest I read first?
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I think A Moveable Feast…especially if you read and enjoyed The Paris Wife.
Thanks for stopping by, Karen…have a great day!
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I found this question fairly easy to answer, even though it is almost 30 years since I left school. Hemingway was also part of my answer, but a different book:
http://wcs53.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/booking-through-thursday-school-books-september-6/
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I think I have you beat on length of time since school…lol.
It has been fifty + years since high school, but only 34 since graduate school. College sort of went on and on (the graduate part).
Thanks for stopping by, William; I haven’t yet read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.
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The Old Man and the Sea is a fairly short book, but it’s such a good story. I should have added that I only finished college this year, when I received my under-grad degree in April. I took a lot of time off in between, though!
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I’ll have to check out The Old Man and the Sea…I have heard good things about it.
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I can’t remember ever reading Hemingway, I’m sure I saw some of his books that were made into movies, and really I do know who he is. ; )
Thanks for the visit today, always enjoy your visits and comments.
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Yes, it’s been many years since I read the Hemingway that was on the high school list; I really enjoyed A Moveable Feast last year. Thanks for visiting, Ann.
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It’s been a long time for me since high school, but Little Women is my all time favorite.
http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/09/booking-through-thursday.html
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I do love Little Women…I read it several times in childhood, and then reread it a couple of years ago. Still enjoyed it!
Thanks for visiting, Tribute Books Mama.
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Other than the 2 books that always pop into my head, I drew a blank!
Here Is My BTT
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I recalled others as I visited blogs. Thanks for visiting, Vicki, and enjoy your reading.
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I read A Farewell to Arms, and the short story “Hills Like White Elephants.” Hemingway’s terse style, such short sentences, felt so strange to me, made the characters feel so remote and odd. Maybe I should give him another shot?
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Yes, his writing style is different than my usual favorites, but I enjoyed seeing things from his perspective. Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth.
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I really want to read the Luanne Rice book. I love her work and this sounds so good.
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It was good, Yvonne…I didn’t like the characters in this one much, except for Clare. The others were almost too broken even for me! lol
Thanks for stopping by.
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Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog!
Would you believe I haven’t read anything by Hemingway? I’ve got to remedy that.
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I probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been assigned reading…I’m glad I did. Thanks for visiting, Wuthering Willow.
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